Emirates Reduces Flights to United States

Emirates Reduces Flights, pic: Boeing 777-300ER

Emirates Reduces Flights to USA due to traffic drop. The gulf carrier plans to cut services to five of its 12 destinations in the United States from Dubai in reaction to declines in traffic since US President Donald Trump's attempts to bar citizens of several Muslim-majority nations from entering the United States. country. A more recent ban on large electronic devices in aircraft cabins flying to the United States from eight countries in the Middle East and North Africa has accelerated falls.

In a statement to the media on Wednesday, Emirates confirmed that the cuts will begin in less than two weeks. Specifically, the plans call for the Fort Lauderdale and Orlando operations to decline from daily service to five times a week, starting May 1 and May 23 respectively. Beginning June 1 and June 2, Seattle and Boston operations will move from two daily operations to a single flight a day. Finally, on July 1, Emirates will also cut service from Los Angeles twice a day to once a day.

"This is a business decision in response to weakened demand for travel to the United States," he said. "The recent steps taken by the United States government regarding entry visa issuance, increased security monitoring, and restrictions on electronic devices in aircraft booths have had a direct impact on the Consumer interest and demand for air travel to the United States "

The moves follow a recent warning from the International Airport Council of competitive distortions that the electronic ban, also adopted by the UK, would produce. In particular, the organization called for "urgent consideration" for alternative solutions, including additional explosive detection capability at boarding gates and / or "cutting-edge" technology for cabin baggage detection.

"Airports, along with industry partners and governments, put safety as a priority and understand the need to implement measures quickly when a higher level of threat is identified," said ACI. "However, the exchange of information and coordination on security measures between governments and industry is also crucial for ensuring effective security. In particular, inconsistency in the implementation of security measures does not Security and can simply lead to the transfer of the threat to other places instead of addressing it. In the present case, it also leads to confusion of passengers and leads to commercial distortions not only for airlines but also for airports. "

Airports covered by the US ban, located in eight mainly Muslim countries, include Dubai International Airport and Abu Dhabi International Airport and Hamad International Airport in Doha, the respective bases of Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways. Under fire from US airlines And several lobbies to receive what they see as unjust government support. The others involve the Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, Cairo International Airport, Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul, King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Kuwait International Airport and International Airport Mohammed V of Casablanca.

Several airlines have taken steps to lessen the effect of electronic ban on passengers, including offering services to check their devices at the door. Emirates, for example, offers to pick them up at the door and place them in a safe box in the hold of the plane. The free service allows passengers to keep their laptops and other devices with them until they board their flights. However, Emirates still encourages passengers to pack their electronic devices in their "in the first instance" check-in baggage to avoid delays.